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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · bay · stick · hand · root · straw · tear · arm

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — of a word
  4. hand — in cards
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. root — the cause
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. bat — the animal
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. tear — from crying
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. arm — part of the body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com